Driver, 62, killed after slamming into big-rig stopped on PCH in Long Beach (updated)

LONG BEACH - A driver whose car slammed into a big-rig stopped in the median on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach was killed Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. in the 2100 block of West Pacific Coast Highway, said Long Beach police Sgt. David Marander.

The 62-year-old West Covina man died at the scene, Marander said. His name was withheld pending notification of his relatives. The 67-year-old Los Angeles man driving the big rig was not injured, Marander said.

According to the preliminary investigation, the West Covina man was driving a 1997 Chevrolet Lumina east on PCH at an estimated speed of at least 35 mph when the car veered to the left and hit the front of a westbound big rig that was stopped on the center ``shared’’ turning lane, about to turn left to go into a service station, Marander said.

The crash closed the eastbound lanes of PCH for several hours, but two-way traffic was kept moving through the area on the westbound side of PCH, Marander said.